Machine for applying labels to goods



Dec. 6. 1955 E. A. GOVATSOS 2,726,003

MACHINE FOR APPLYING LABELS T0 GOODS Filed June 50, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheetl I ib d M f z, i 2/1 74 a4 74 W M Mf mam/z fla /m,

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Dec. 6, 1955 E. A. GOVATSOS 2,726,003

MACHINE FOR APPLYING LABELS TO GOODS Filed June 50, 1953 2 Sheets-SheetZ United States Patent 2,726,003 MACHINE FOR APPLYING LABELS TO GOODS Edward A. Govatsos, Quincy, Mass.

Application June 30, 1953, Serial No. 365,143

Claims. (Cl. 216-55) This invention relates to mechanism for operating on a series of articles which may be introduced in regular or irregular succession. In the embodiment of the invention hereinafter described mechanism is provided for applying labels to a succession of bags which contain any desired small articles of commerce, the labels being applied in such a way as to seal the bags. It is an object of the invention to construct the machine and its control means in such a way as to promote rapid operation without interference between the parts of the machine operating on successive bags in the series. For this purpose the mechanism for transferring labels from a magazine to the station where they are applied to the bags is controlled by novel electrical circuits as hereinafter described. For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description thereof and to the drawings, of which Figure 1 is a plan view of mechanism embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 44 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5--5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a section on the line 66 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary isometric view of a sealed g;

Figures 8, 9 and 10 are plan views, on a larger scale, of a portion of the mechanism shown in Figure 1 showing the parts in different positions of operation; and

Figures 11 to 15, inclusive, are diagrammatic views of the electrical control apparatus, showing successive stages of operation.

The mechanism illustrated on the drawings is conveniently mounted on a horizontal table which has a slot 22. Along one side of the slot and just above the table is a stretch of a long conveyor chain 24. A shorter conveyor chain 26 is on the opposite side of the slot. One or both of these chains is constantly driven by means not shown. A third conveyor chain 28 which is also driven constantly, is guided by pulleys so that it has a stretch 30 approaching the slot at a steep angle, the chain then passing around one of the guide pulleys to travel along as at 32 opposite and adjacent to a part of the conveyor on the other side of the slot 22. Bags introduced edgewise into the slot 22 from the left (Figure 1) are gripped between the conveyors 24 and 26 and advanced toward the right to the end of the conveyor 26, whereupon the conveyor 32 takes hold and continues the movement of the bag. Cover plates 34 and 36 may be mounted over portions of the conveyors 24 and 26, the adjacent edges of these plates being spaced to serve as guides for the upper portion of each bag B which is advanced along the slot 22, as indicated in Figure 2. A suitable magazine 40 for labels is mounted on the table 20 and is conveniently located with respect to the conveyor 30. The magazine may consist of an open-ended trough in which a supply of labels 42 are pressed by a pusher 44 against detaining along their other side edge so as to promote easy separa-' tion of individual labels from the supply by means hereinafter described.

Mechanism for transferring labels one by one from the magazine 40 to a stand-by positionwherein the leading portion of a label which has been taken from the. magazine is between the conveyor 30'and a pair of press rolls 48 is shown in Figures 1, 8, 9 and 10.. This comprises a suction head 50 on the end of a rigid tube 52 which is connected by a flexible tube 54 to a valve box 56. A passage58 in the box connects the tube 54 with a tube 60 (Figure. 6) which leads to a suction pump (not shown). The box 56 has a valve slide.62 which normally encloses the passage 58 but when moved to the right (Figure 4) moves a hole 64 into registry with part of the end of the tube 54 so as to connect the latter with the open air which blows directly into the tube. When this occurs, the suction in the tube 54 is quickly broken. The slide 62 is pressed toward the shut position by a spring 66, the movements of the slide being limited by a stop in 68 in the hole 64.

The tube 52 which carries the suction head 50 passes through and is fixed to two posts 70 and 72 which. are swivelly mounted, respectively, at an end of a link 74 and at an end of a cam actuatedlever 76. The link a 74 is pivotally connected at its other end to a crank pin 78 on a cam disc 80. The lever 76 is rockable about a post 82 which is secured to the table 20. The lever 76 carries in the end remote from the post 72 a cam follower 84 which is pressed against the edge of the disc by a spring 86 attached to the lever 76. The link 74 and the lever 76 control the movements of the suction head 50. Movements of the link cause lateral movements of the suction head between its positions at the magazine and at the stand-by station, while movements of the lever 76 cause movement components of the head in the direction of the axis of the tube 52, e. g., toward and away from the supply of labels in the magazine.

The cam disc 80 is loosely mounted on a vertical shaft 90 (Figure 5) which is'constantly rotated by suitable driving connections 92. A ratchet wheel 94 is fixed on the upper end of the shaft 90 immediately above the disc 80. A pawl 96 is rockably mounted on the upper face of the disc 80 and is pressed by a spring 98 into operative engagement with the ratchet wheel 94. When the pawl is thus engaged, the disc rotates with the ratchet wheel. However, the pawl is normally held out of engagement with the ratchet wheel by an arm 100 of abell-crank 102 which engages a notch in the pawl 96 to rock it out of engagement with the ratchet wheel as indicated in Figures 1 and 8. To release the pawl 96 at the right times, the bell-crank 102 is rocked slightly counterclockwise and is promptly rocked back by a spring 104 so that the arm 100 is in position to catch in the notch in the pawl and rock it to disconnect the disc from the ratchet wheel after it has completed one rotation.

To rock the bell-crank 102, a lever 106 is mounted on the table 20 to rock about a pivot 108. One end of this lever is connected by a link 110 to the armature of a solenoid 112. The other end of the lever 106 carries a dog 114 pivoted at 116 and pressed by a spring 118 to press against a stop 120. Adjacent to the dog114 is the free end of the other arm 122 of the bell-crank 102. When the lever 106 is rocked counterclockwise by energization of the solenoid 112 the corner 124 of the dog 114 snaps past the end of the bell-crank arm 122 and then bears against the side of the arm as indicated Patented Dec. 6, 1955 in Figure 8. When the solenoid is deenergized, the lever 106" is rocked back by a spring 126 (Figure 1). This momentarily rocks the bell-crank 102 to the position shown in Figure 9, releasing the pawl.96 so that the disc 80 starts rotating. the. end of its rocking. stroke, the corner 124 of the dog moves clear of the side surfaceof the arm 122; releasing the bell-crank which is thereupon rocked by the spring 104untilit is stoppedby a stop-pint128 (Figure The end of the arm 100' is then in position-to intercept the pawl 96 and to disengage the disc 80' from the rotating ratchet wheel 94 when the disc has completed a single revolution.

The press-rolls 48 which oppose the stretch 30' of the moving. conveyor chain at the stand-by station are mounted on a triangular plate 130 which slides on the surface of the. table and is connected by a swivel stud 132 to a rod 134 under the table, the stud extending down through a guide slot 136' in the table (Figure 3). The plate 130 has a guide slot 138 in which rides a pin 140'fixed on. the table to maintain the line of centers of the rolls 48 approximately parallel to the conveyor stretch The other end of the rod 134 is pivotally attached toa plate 142 which rocks about the post 82. A spring 144 urges the plate clockwise to draw the rolls 48 against the conveyor 30. Such movement is normally prevented by a nose 146 of the plate 142' which bears against the end of'the lever 106 while the solenoid 112 is deenergized. Energization of the solenoid releases the nose 146 and permits the spring to pull the rolls 48 against the conveyor 30. A shoulder 148 on the plate 142 pushes against the end of the valve slide 62 when the plate is rocked, thus breaking the suction in the head 50. The energization of the solenoid 112 also cocks the apparatus so that upon deenergization, a cycle of operations occurs as the cam disc 80 makes a revolution. In the ordinary operation of the machine, energization of the solenoid 112 is quickly followed by deenergization which starts rotation of the cam disc from the position shown in Figure 8.

An electric control system for energizing and deenergizing the solenoid at the proper moments is illustrated diagrammatically in Figures 11 to 15. Two electric switches 159 and 152 are mounted on the table near the slot 22' to be actuated by light arms 154'and 156, respectively, which normally extend across the slot diagonally. The switch 150 is normally closed, but is opened when the leading edge of an article such as a bag B rocks the arm 154. It remains open until the trailing edge of the article passes clear of the aim 154. The switch 152 is normally open but is closed when the leading edge of an article rocks the arm 156. It opens again when the trailing edge of the article moves past the arm 156. The switch 150 is connected in series with the coil 158 of a relay switch 160 between leads 162 and 164 from a power supply. The armature of the switch 160 is connected to a pole of the switch 152 and is movable alternatively into contact with two terminals 166 and 168. The other pole of the switch 152 is connected to the power lead 162. The terminal 166 is connected through the coil 158 to the lead 164. The terminal 168 is connected through the solenoid 112 to the lead 164. A spring 170 pulls the armature 160 into contact with the terminal 168 except when the coil 158 is energized to hold the armature in contact with the terminal 166.

When a series of objects B1, B2, etc. are introduced into the slot 22, the switch 150 is closed and the switch 152 is open. When the leading edge of the first article B1 reaches the arm 154, the switch 150 opens. This deenergizes the coil 158 and lets the spring 170 shift the armature 160 from the terminal .166 to the terminal 168 (Figure 12). When the article B1 reaches the arm 156, the switch 152 closes (Figure 13) and the circuit is completed to energize the solenoid 112. This has the Just-before the lever1'06 reaches .tllS.

effect of cocking the apparatus preparatory to a revolution of the cam disc 80, and also results in the press rolls 48 being moved against the conveyor 30 and the suction being relieved in the head 50 so that a label held in the stand-by position is advanced toward the slot 22 just in time to register with the object B1 which is passing the arm 156. Accurate registration of the labels and articles can be had by adjusting the position of the switch 152 and arm 156 toward or from the stand-by station. In order to energize the solenoid 112 with the wiring system shown, it is necessary that the horizontal length of each article be at least as great as the distance between the arms 154 and 156.

An object of the wiringsystem shown is to speed up operation of the machine by starting operation of the mechanism for transferring a label from the magazine to the stand-by position before the joining of the previous label to an article has beencompleted. For this purpose the solenoid 112 remains energized as long as both switch arms 154 and 156 are deflected by the article. When, however, the trailing edge of the article B1 passes and releases the arm 154 (Figure 14) the switch closes, energizing the relay coil 158 and opening the switch 160, 168 to deenergize the solenoid 112. This starts the cycle of operations to transfer another label from the magazine to the stand-by position to be ready for the article B2. It is important that this cycle be allowed to proceed to completion before the solenoid 112 is reenergized. Premature energization of the solenoid, when successive articles are closely spaced, is prevented by the wiring system shown. Thus if the leading edge of the article 132 reaches the arm 154 before the article B1 has cleared the arm 156 (Figure 15), nothing happens as the relay coil 158 remains energized by the circuit through the closed switches 160, 166 and 152 until the trailing edge of the article B1 passes and releases the arm 156 to open the switch 152. This deenergizes the relay coil 158 so that the armature shifts to the terminal 168, but since the switch 152 is open, there is no change in the solenoid 112. When the leading edge of the article B2 now strikes the arm 156, the solenoid 112 is energized, thus cocking the appara- Deenergization thereafter occurs when the trailing edge of the article B2 passes the arm 154. Likewise with each succeeding article, the solenoid 112 is energized when the leading edge of the article rocks the arm 156 and is deenergized when the trailing edge of the same article clears the arm 154. Thus the time interval available for transferring a label from the magazine to the stand-by position is the time required for an article to travel the distance between it and the preceding article plus the distance between the arms 154 and 156.

A cycle of operation of the machine is as follows. The leading edge of an article strikes the arm 156 to start the feeding of the label in the stand-by position so that both article and label reach the junction point simultaneously. That is, the rocking of the arm 156 by the article results in the energization of the solenoid 112 to rock the lever 106, break the suction in the head 50 to release the label then held by the head at the standby position and press the feed rolls 48 against the label so that it will be advanced by the conveyor 30. The solenoid remains energized until the trailing edge of this article clears the arm I54, whereupon the solenoid is deenergized and the disc 80 revolves as hereinbefore described. At the beginning of the rotation of the disc, the cam follower 84 is nearly at the lowest point of the cam so that during the first quarter turn of the disc the lever 76 rocks slightly clockwise. This results in a slight but sutficient withdrawal of the suction head from the label which it has been holding. At the same time speed toward the magazine,

lever 76 is gradually rocked counterclockwise, moving the head forward or toward the left as shown in Figure 1. During the third quarter turn of the disc, the cam follower 84 rides over the high point of the cam and then into a depression to move the head forward into engagement with the label supply in the magazine and then away from the magazine to withdraw a label therefrom. As the cam follower 84 approaches the high point of the cam, the lever 76 engages a stop pin 172 on the plate 130 to rock the plate counterclockwise thus restoring suction in the head 50 and pushing the press rolls 48 back from the conveyor 30. During the final quarter turn of the disc, the link 74 brings the head with a label to the stand-by position which is reached when the disc is disconnected from the ratchet wheel 94 and stopped by the engagement of the end of the arm 100 in the notch in the pawl.

I claim:

1. Control apparatus for a machine which includes an energizable member and mechanism to perform one operation when the member becomes energized and to perform a second and diiferent operation when the member becomes deenergized, said apparatus comprising a relay switch having a coil, an armature and two terminals for alternative contact by said armature, a power wire connected to one pole of said coil and also to one pole of said member, a normally closed switch biased to the closed position, a normally open switch biased to the open position, said switches being arranged for successive engagement by articles to be operated on to open the closed switch and thereafter to close the open switch before the normally closed switch closes again, a second power wire connected to a pole of the normally closed switch and to a pole of the normally open switch, a connecting wire from the other pole of said normally closed switch to the other pole of the relay coil and to the relay terminal which is engaged by the armature when the coil is energized, a connecting wire from the other pole of the normally open switch to the relay armature, and a connecting wire from the other relay terminal to the other pole of said member.

2. Apparatus of the class described comprising means for conveying successive articles past a predetermined point, a magazine for labels spaced from said point, an electrically energizable member, means responsive to de energization of said member to remove a label from said magazine and to transfer said label to a stand-by position near said point, means responsive to energization of said member to release the label at the stand-by position and cause it to be advanced to said point for application to an article conveyed thereto, and control means for said member comprising two single throw switches successively engageable by each said article before it reaches said point and means operating to energize said member when an article engages the second of said switches and to deenergize said member when said article moves clear of the first of said switches.

3. Apparatus for applying labels to articles, comprising means for conveying a series of articles in succession past a predetermined point, a magazine spaced from said point, and means for removing single labels from said magazine and transferring each said label to a stand-by position near said point, said transferring means comprising a rigid tube, a suction head on one end of said tube, a valve block with a transverse passageway therethrough and a suction connection communicating with said passageway, a flexible tube connected at one end to said block in line with said passageway and at the other end to said rigid tube, a valve slide normally closing the other end of said passageway, said slide having a hole therethrough movable into registry with said passageway, a pivoted member rockable against said slide to move it to open-valve position, means normally preventing rocking of said pivoted member to engage said slide, and a solenoid connected to said last named means and energizable to shift said preventing means to inoperative position, whereby said slide is shifted to relieve suction in said suction head.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3, and means at said stand-by position operable to grip and convey a label at said position, and a connection between said gripping means and said pivoted member to actuate said gripping means when said pivoted member rocks to move said valve slide.

5. Apparatus as in claim 4, said transferring means also including a cam disc, means responsive to deenergization of said solenoid to rotate said disc a single revolution, a crank pin on said disc, a link connecting said crank-pin to said rigid tube to impart lateral movement thereto when the disc revolves, and a lever carrying a cam follower at one end engaging the edge of said cam disc and connected at the other end to said rigid tube to impart longitudinal movements thereto for engaging and Withdrawing a label from said magazine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,064,658 Grieb et a1. Dec. 15, 1936 2,503,989 Armstrong et al. Apr. 11, 1950 2,564,901 Hess Aug. 21, 1951 

